Truss



F. P. McELFRESH.

TRUSS. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11. l9l9.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- Patented May 25, 1920.

F. P. McELFRESH.

Patented May 25, 1920 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- 2 u I 3 I 1 I a i v 7 0;. n .M I 7 n :9 a I Z. i i a PM a an n 1 J w a 4 7. J I. a y a I I.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TRUSS.

Specification-of Letters Patent.

Patented May 25, 1920.

Application filed February 17, 1919. Serial No. 277,488.

useful Truss, of which the following is a specification.

The device formingthe subject matter of this application is a truss, and the invention aims to provide a truss having no elastic parts likely to decay, the truss being devoid of a. perineal strap.

The invention aims to provide novel means whereby the pads may be adjusted circumferentially of the body encircling belt, and, as well,.be adjusted longitudinally of the body of the wearer.

Another object of the invention is so to construct the belt or band of the truss, that the belt may be located high enough up so as not to interfere with the operation of walking, the height of the belt permitting the same to clear the hip bones, thereby avoiding a raising of the belt and a releasing of the rupture.

The invention aims to provide a truss including a belt which will produce no unnecessar circumferential pressure on the body 0 the wearer, there being, merely, enough pressure to prevent the truss from slipping.

Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of the truss pad.

It iswithin the province of thedisclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devicesofthat type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement. of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that,

. within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention'.

In the drawingsz- Figure 1 shows in top plan, a truss constructed inacoordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the truss; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the truss; Fig. 4 is an elevation showing the pad; Fig. 5 is a cross section of the pad, a portion of the supporting arm for the pad appearing; Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing a portion of the pad; and Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig.3.

The device forming the subject matter of this application comprises a belt, one part of which is represented by abody 1, preferably made of metal. The belt includes arms 2 located approximately in a common plane with the body 1 and secured to the ends of the body, as shown at 3, the arms 2 having depending ends 1. The arms 2 preferably are made of metal. The belt may be bent to fit the wearer.

Since the ends 4 depend as above mentioned, the belt may be located high enough up on the body of the wearer so as not to interfere with the operation of walking. Again, since the belt may be located at a considerable elevation above the rupture, the hip bones will not be likely to raise the belt and detach the pads, hereinafter described, from the rupture.

A flexible lining 5, made of leather or any other desired material, extends circumferentially of the body 1, the arms 2 and the ends 4%, and is attached to these parts by securing elements 6. In the ends 4, there are open ings 7, adapted to receive hooks 8 or like elements, united by securing members 9 with the parts of a flexible back strap 10, the members of which are united by a buckle 11 or otherwise.

The trussmay be'employed for retaining either a single rupture or a double rupture. Assuming that a double rupture is to be retained, longitudinal s-lots 12 are fashioned in the body 1 of the belt. Slides 14, in the form of plates are adapted to reciprocate on the outer surface of the body 1 at the slots 12. The upper ends of strips 15 are attached by securing members 16 to the forward surfaces of the slides 1 the strips 15 constituting parts of pad supporting arms. Bolts 17 are located in the slots 12 and pass through the slides 14, the bolts having heads 18 engaging theinner surface of the body 1, as clearly shown in Fig. 7, the heads being supplied with screw driver kerfs 19, if desired. The outer ends of the bolts 17 are threaded into nuts 20, abutting against the outer surfaces of the slides 14. It is to be observed that the nuts 20 coiiperate with the strips 15 and are thus held against rotation. The lining 5 may be sprung inwardly away from the body 1, thus giving access to the heads 18 of the bolts 17, and, by loosening the bolts, the slides 14 may be adjusted circumferentially of the body encircling belt, carrying with them, the pads hereinafter described.

The pad supporting arms comprise lower strips 21 overlapped on the strips 15 and supplied with longitudinal slots 22 wherein are located clamp screws 23 threaded into the strips 15 and having heads coiiperating with the strips 21. Guides 2st are secured at 25 to the upper ends of the strips 21 and coact with the strips 15 By loosening the clamp screws 23, the'lower strip 21 may be slid upwardly and downwardly 011 the upper strips 15, and be held in adjusted positions by tightening up the clamp screws 23. In this way, the pads may be raised and lowered, and, since the arms 15'?21 may be adjusted circumferentially of the body 1 of the belt, it will be seen that the pads may be moved longitudinally of the corpus of the wearer or circumferentially thereof.

Each pad, comprises, preferably, an outer plate 26, an inner plate 27 and an intermediate plate 28, the said plates being held together by screws 29 or otherwise, the intermediate plate 27 being of smaller diameter than the plates 26 and 28, thereby to form a circumscribing groove 38. The intermediate plate 28 is supplied with a polygonal recess 30 wherein is seated, against rotation, a nut 31, held in the recess by the plates 26 and 27. The plates 26, 27 and 28 may be fashioned from leather or any other suitable material which will not deteriorate in the presence of moisture and there is, therefore, a very good reason for providing a means whereby the nut 31, which ordinarily is made of metal, may be held in place as above described. A screw 32 passes through the outer plate 26 and is threaded into the nut 20, the screw serving to hold the pad on the lower end of the strip 21 of the pad supporting arm. The numeral 33 denotes a flexible cover, held by a draw string 34: or otherwise in the groove 38. A. filler 35 is disposed within the cover 33, the filler preferably consisting of sand, this material being selected because it will shape itself readily to the rupture and will not become foul or deteriorate, due to moisture. There is an opening 36 in the inner plate 29, alined with the opening in the nut 31 through which the screw 32 passes. Thus, when the screw 32 is removed, the quantity of sand within the cover 33 may be regulated, to adjust the stiffness of the pad. In order to prevent the sand from working into the threads of the screw 32, or into the threaded aperture of the nut 31, a closure 37 is placed in the opening 36 of the plate 27, this closure ordinarily being of pledget cotton, which can be pulled out with a pair of tweezers or like instrument, when the quantity of sand within the cover 33 is to be changed.

The operation of the structure has been dealt with hereinbefore, in connection with the description of the various parts, but, by way of resume, it may be noted that, owing to the specific shape of the belt, including the parts 1, 2 and 4, the belt may be located at a relatively high elevation, thereby preventing a displacement of the belt and the pads while the wearer is walking or under other conditions. The pad supporting arms may be adjusted circumferentially of the body encircling belt, and the pads may be raised and lowered by varying the lengths of the pad supporting arms. Consequently, a wide range of adjustment for the pads is possible. The stiffness of the pads may be varied by adjusting the amount of sand or other filler 35 therein, as hereinbefore explained.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. A truss pad including an outer plate; an inner plate having an opening; an intermediate plate between the inner and outer plates and of less diameter than said plates, to define a groove, the intermediate plate be ing provided with a polygonal recess; a nut seated in the recess and held therein by the inner and outer plates; a screw threaded into the nut; a cover engaged in the groove; and a granular filler located within the cover, the filler being insertible into the cover through the opening in the inner plate; and a closure for the opening, the closure being independent of the screw and constituting means for preventing the filler from working into the threads of the screwreceiving opening in the nut.

2. A truss comprising a body encircling member having a longitudinal slot; a slide mounted to reciprocate on one surface of the body encircling member at the slot; an arm secured to the slide and outstanding therefrom; a nut co6perating with the slide and held against rotation by engagement with one edge of the arm; a bolt threaded into the nut and passing through the slot, the nut having a head cotiperating with the opposite surface of the body encircling memher; and a pad supported by the arm.

3. A truss pad including an outer plate; an inner plate; an intermediate plate be- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signa- 10 ture 1n the presence of two wltnesses.

FRANKLIN P. MCELFRESH.

Witnesses J. F. MOMANUS, ED. F. CARLTON. 

